Method and device to simplify message composition

ABSTRACT

A method and device to simplify message reply composition on a communications device, using a partially transparent overlay to allow a user to freely scroll and move around to other sections of a message or message chain while still being able to see and edit the reply being composed. When the reply is scrolled such that the composition field is not visible on the display screen, the device displays the overlay when the user enters text or on user request. The user may then type text into the overlay while viewing the underlying portion of the reply message, such as previous messages in the string.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/394,310 filed Feb. 27, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The present application relates generally to the field of mobiledevices, and in particular to mobile devices with user input meansallowing a user to compose messages and replies to messages on thedevice itself.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices present unique usability challenges because of theirsmall screens. The typical mobile device must be small and light enoughto be carried by the typical user comfortably, and this often results inmobile device screens with a fraction of the size and/or resolution oftypical desktop screens. In order to maintain usability, a message thatdoes not fill an entire desktop screen may need to be displayed inmultiple pages when viewed on a mobile screen.

When composing a lengthy message, a user sometimes needs to scroll upand down in order to refer to various sections of the message. When theuser wishes to write again, the user must then scroll back to where hewishes to write before typing. This tedious scrolling reducesproductivity and concentration and instead forces the user to focus onthe user interface instead of on the message being composed.

A similar issue exists when a user composes a reply to a message chain.A message chain is a series of messages where one reply is placed on topof another reply, as in the case of a typical top-posting message chain.In this case, even the composition of a short reply may require the userto scroll down in order to refer to other messages in the message chain.When the user wishes to write his reply, the user must then scroll backup to the top before typing his reply. Similarly, if the email chaincontains multiple statements to which the user wishes to respond to inhis reply, the user may need to scroll down and up multiple times whencomposing his reply. Again, this tedious scrolling reduces productivityand concentration and forces the user to concentrate his attention onthe user interface instead of the reply being composed.

This issue is further compounded when the user is composing the reply ona mobile device, as the small screen size and/or lower screen resolutionrequires the user to do much more scrolling than on a comparable desktopscreen.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method and device that,in part, improves message composition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram view of an exemplary communications deviceas part of a communications network.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram view of an exemplary communications device.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method described in the presentapplication.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of another method described in the presentapplication.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary scrollable message spanning more than onepage. FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, and 5F show subsequent pages of theexemplary scrollable message of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A shows an exemplary scrollable message composition window.

FIG. 6B shows another exemplary scrollable message composition window.

FIG. 7A shows another view of the exemplary scrollable messagecomposition window of FIG. 6B.

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary view of an overlay on the exemplaryscrollable message composition window of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C shows another exemplary view of an overlay on the exemplaryscrollable message composition window of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A shows an exemplary view of a calendar displayed on a device.

FIG. 8B shows an exemplary view of an overlay on the exemplary view ofthe calendar of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 8C shows another exemplary view of an overlay on the exemplary viewof the calendar of FIG. 8A.

Similar reference numerals may have been used in different figures todenote similar components.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present application are not limited to any particularposting convention, communications architecture, operating system, orsystem architecture. It can be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the messages and messaging systems referenced herein appliesequally to all messaging systems, including but not limited to ShortMessage Service (SMS) systems, email systems, Instant Messaging (IM)systems, and any other messaging system where information is sent from asource to a receiver over a communications network.

The present application discloses a method and device to simplifymessage composition on a communications device, and in particular allowsa user to freely scroll and move around to other sections of a messageor message chain while still being able to see and edit the messagebeing composed. In one embodiment, the present application relates tomethods and devices applicable to composing messages which contain aninput or editable area and a textual area to which the user may wish torefer. For example, the methods and device may be applied to composingreply messages.

In one aspect, the method starts when a user composes a reply to amessage on a communications device. When this happens, a scrollablemessage composition window is displayed showing the reply. The replyincludes a primary area and a secondary area, and the secondary areaincludes a copy of the message. If a first event is detected when themessage composition window has been scrolled such that the primary areaof the reply is not visible, an overlay is displayed. The overlayincludes an input area for the input of elements. When a second event isdetected, the overlay is removed and the elements entered into the inputarea of the overlay are inserted into the primary area of the reply.

In an example embodiment, a device embodying the above method isconfigured for communications with a network and includes a display, acommunication subsystem for sending and receiving messages over thenetwork, a memory, an user input device, and a processor for controllingthe operation of the display. The processor is configured to display ascrollable message composition window showing a reply to a message. Thereply includes a primary area and a secondary area, and the secondaryarea includes a copy of the message. If the processor detects a firstevent when the message composition window has been scrolled such thatthe primary area of the reply is not visible, it is configured todisplay an overlay in response to the first event, the overlay includingan input area for the input of elements. On the detection of a secondevent, the processor is configured to remove the overlay and insert theelements entered in the input area of the overlay into the primary areaof the reply.

In another example embodiment, a computer program product includes acomputer readable medium having encoded on it computer executableinstructions for composing a reply to a message, the computer executableinstructions including instructions for displaying a scrollable messagecomposition window showing the reply, where the reply includes a primaryarea and a secondary area, and where the secondary area includes a copyof the message. If a first event is detected when the messagecomposition window has been scrolled such that the primary area of thereply is not visible, the medium includes instructions to display anoverlay in response to the first event, the overlay including an inputarea for the input of elements. If a second event is detected, themedium includes instructions to remove the overlay and insert theelements entered in the input area of the overlay into the primary areaof the reply.

In one aspect, the method automatically presents the user with apartially transparent overlay on top of a window showing, among otherthings, the message being replied to. This allows the user to composehis reply into an input area on the overlay while simultaneouslyretaining the ability to scroll and view any portion of the messagebeing replied to. The user may dismiss the overlay at any time andinsert the text entered in the input area of the overlay into his reply.

One aspect of the method presents a user with a scrollable messagecomposition window showing, among other elements, an area for the userto compose a reply (the reply composition area) and a copy of themessage being replied to (the message). The user is free to scroll upand down the message composition window at his leisure. It is possiblefor the user to scroll the message composition window so that the replycomposition area scrolls off and is no longer visible on the screen. Ifthe user starts composing his reply while the reply composition area isno longer visible, such as by the typing of an alphabetic or numericcharacter while the reply composition area is no longer visible, anoverlay with an input area is displayed and the user's reply is shown inthe input area of the overlay. This overlay remains visible even whilethe user scrolls to various other sections of the message. Thus, theuser is able to scroll to various other sections of the message and seeand edit his reply at the same time, even though the reply compositionarea is not visible. The user may dismiss the overlay at any time andinsert the text entered in the input area of the overlay into the replycomposition area.

In another aspect, the present application discloses a method ofcomposing a message on a communications device. The method includesdisplaying a message composition window showing the message, the windowcontaining an editable composition field; receiving a first inputinstruction to display an overlay; displaying an overlay in response tothe first input instruction, the overlay including an input area for theinput of elements; receiving a second input instruction; and in responseto the second input instruction, removing the overlay and inserting theelements entered in the input area of the overlay into the editablecomposition area of the message composition window.

In some embodiments, the first input instruction is a manual user inputto cause display of the overlay. The overlay may be layered atop themessage composition window if it is visible on the screen when themanual user input is received. If the user has switched to view anotherapplication, such as a calendar, document, contact list, etc., then theoverlay may be displayed atop the currently visible window orapplication view.

In the case of a message composition wherein there is a definedcomposition area, such as a reply composition field, and a second areacontaining text (whether editable or not) to which the user may wish torefer, then the method may automatically determine whether to display anoverlay without explicit user instructions based on whether the userinputs text or other elements for inclusion in a message compositionwhile the defined composition area is not visible on the screen. In someexample embodiments, the method may include determining whether a cursoror caret is positioned within the defined composition area or within thesecond area and displaying the overlay if the cursor or caret is outsidethe defined composition area. It will be appreciated that in the latterembodiments the defined composition area may be wholly or partly visibleon the screen while the cursor or caret is outside the composition area.

It will be appreciated that in most embodiments the overlay is sizedsmaller than the screen size so as to enable the user to view theunderlying window, whether it is a reply message, new message, ordifferent application. It will also be appreciated that in someembodiments, the overlay may be at least partly transparent to permitthe user to view the underlying window while composing his or hermessage.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 5A to 5F shows an exemplaryscrollable message 500 spanning more than one page, with FIGS. 5B to 5Fshowing subsequent pages of the exemplary scrollable message 500 of FIG.5A. As this example shows, message 500 spans more than one page andseeks responses to a number of questions or issues.

One embodiment of the method will now be described using exemplaryscrollable message 500.

FIG. 6A shows an exemplary blank message composition window 600. FIG. 6Bshows another exemplary message composition window 600 allowing a userto reply to message 500. As shown in FIG. 6B, message composition window600 includes a reply composition area 601 and an area 602 showing a copyof the message being replied to.

When composing a reply to exemplary scrollable message 500, a user mayneed to scroll to various sections of message 500 in order to refer tothe various questions or issues being discussed. As seen in FIG. 7A, auser who scrolls through message 500 in order to view various sectionsof message 500 (in this case scrolling to view questions 3 and 4) willalso scroll reply composition area 601 off the screen.

If the user starts composing his reply while reply composition area 601is no longer visible, such as by the typing of an alphabetic or numericcharacter while reply composition area 601 is no longer visible, anoverlay with an input area is displayed and the user's reply is shown inthe input area of the overlay. FIG. 7B shows an overlay 701 superimposedonto area 602 of message composition window 600. The user's reply isshown in the input area of the overlay. Overlay 701 remains visible evenwhile the user scrolls to various other sections of message 500. Thus,the user is able to scroll and refer to various other sections ofmessage 500 and at the same time see and edit his reply, even thoughreply composition area 601 is not visible. The user may dismiss overlay701 at any time and insert the text entered in the input area of theoverlay into reply composition area 601.

The overlay may be of any size, shape or colour, and may or may notinclude a border. Overlay 701 in FIG. 7B shows an exemplary overlay witha thin white border and black text occupying the top half of thedisplay. Overlay 701 in FIG. 7C shows an exemplary overlay occupying thebottom half of the display. The overlay may be moved automatically bythe system. For example, if a user is scrolling down, the overlay may bemoved to the top half of the display so that text or graphics scrollingonto the screen from the bottom can be easily seen. Similarly, if a useris scrolling up, the overlay may be moved to the bottom half of thedisplay so that text or graphics scrolling onto the screen from the topcan be easily seen. Furthermore, the overlay may be resizedautomatically by the system. For example, if the input area of theoverlay contains a single line of text, then the system may resize theoverlay vertically so the input area of the overlay is only one linehigh. Similarly, if the user types a second line of text or pastes anobject or character bigger than the current size of the overlay (such asa rich text object, a picture, an emoticon, or any other object), thesystem may resize the overlay accordingly. Those skilled in the art canappreciate that a placeholder or a thumbnail may be used incircumstances where resizing the overlay will be detrimental to deviceusability. This automatic moving and resizing of the overlay maximizesthe portion of area 602 under Overlay 701 that the user is able to seeand reference, thus improving the usability of the communicationsdevice. Those skilled in the art can also appreciate that the overlaymay also be moved or resized at any time by the user through anyuser-generated event.

The overlay may be transparent, partially transparent, opaque, or anycombination or degree thereof. As well, different areas of the overlaymay have different degrees of transparency. Overlay 701 in FIG. 7B showsan exemplary overlay with different areas having different degrees oftransparency—0% transparency in the area of the overlay where textexists and 50% transparency in all other areas of the overlay. This 0%transparency may be determined on a character-by-character basis or by aline-by-line basis (as in Overlay 701). Either way, a partiallytransparent overlay allows the user to see and refer to portions of area602 even if it is under Overlay 701. As well, ensuring that 0%transparency applies only to a portion of the input area of the overlayrather the entire input area of the overlay maximizes the portion ofarea 602 under Overlay 701 that the user is able to see and reference,thus improving the usability of the communications device. Those skilledin the art can appreciate that overlay transparency or opacity settingsmay also be expressly determined by the user in user preferencesettings.

In some embodiments, the user is able to see and edit text already inthe reply composition area from within the overlay. This improvesusability of the communications device as it provides the user a senseof continuity between the text in the reply composition area and thetext in the overlay, and allows easier completion of thoughts whentransitioning to the overlay. Overlay 701 in FIG. 7B shows an exemplaryoverlay 701 with exemplary upward indicator 702. Upward indicator 702indicates the presence of additional text above the currently displayedtwo lines. If the user scrolls up more than the currently displayed twolines, additional text from the reply composition area may be viewed andedited from within the overlay. As those skilled in the art appreciate,where additional text from the reply composition area exists below thecurrently displayed lines, a corresponding downward indicator may bedisplayed. In another aspect, a freshly invoked overlay may also bepre-populated with a few words already in reply composition area 601 inorder to provide additional continuity to the user.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows a flowchart of an examplemethod 300 for simplifying reply message composition. To start, amessage composition window is displayed, showing a reply and a primaryarea, as in step 301. As exemplary message composition window 600follows top-posting convention, the primary area is the replycomposition area 601. The method 300 then loops until it detects anevent while the primary area of the reply is not visible, as in steps302 and 303. For exemplary message composition window 600, the method300 loops until a user starts composing his reply while replycomposition area 601 is no longer visible, such as by the typing of analphabetic or numeric character while reply composition area 601 hasbeen scrolled off the screen and is no longer visible. Once thiscondition is satisfied, an overlay is displayed, as in step 304. Theoverlay is displayed until a second event is detected, as in step 305.This second event may be any user-generated event, such as a buttonpress, a menu selection, a gesture, or an accelerometer event; it may beany system event, such as an automatic timeout or an incoming call; orit may be any combination of an user-generated event and system event,such as a button press while an automatic timeout has not elapsed. Inany case, once this second event is detected, the overlay is removed(step 306) and the text entered in the overlay is inserted into theprimary area of the reply (step 307). For exemplary message compositionwindow 600, the text entered in the overlay is inserted into replycomposition area 601.

In another aspect, the second event may be a cancellation event wherethe user wishes to dismiss the overlay and discard any text entered intothe overlay. Referring now to FIG. 4, another example method 400 isillustrated in flowchart form. In method 400, steps 305 and 411, oncethe second event is detected it is determined if it is a cancellationevent. If so, the method 400 proceeds to dismiss the overlay, as in step306, and completes. If the second event is not a cancellation event, themethod 400 proceeds as before and dismisses the overlay (step 306) andthe text entered in the overlay is inserted into the primary area of thereply (step 307).

In a further aspect, the second event may be any other special eventrepresented by any user-generated event, any system event, or anycombination thereof. In one example, the second event may be an eventthat allows the user to preview text entered in the overlay in the replycomposition area before the text is actually inserted in the replycomposition area. In another example, the second event may be an eventthat not only inserts the text entered in the overlay into the replycomposition area but also sends the reply.

Message 500 may be a message chain comprising of one or more messages.In that case, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatsuch an embodiment would work in a similar fashion as those embodimentsdescribed above.

In another aspect, the methods described herein may be explicitlyinvoked by a user, whether or not the primary area of the reply messagecomposition window is visible. For example, a user may invoke an overlayeven when reply composition area 601 is visible, such as by pressing aspecial button, a special sequence of buttons, a special gesture, or byselecting an item from a menu. In this case, after such a first event isdetected at step 302, step 303 is skipped and the overlay is displayedimmediately at step 304.

In yet a further aspect, the methods described herein apply equally welloutside the confines of a messaging application. For example, a user mayreceive a message asking for a lunch meeting and wants to consult hiscalendar before composing a reply. This example scenario is illustratedin FIGS. 8A through 8C. FIG. 8A shows an example display of a calendarinterface. FIG. 8B shows an example display of the calendar interfacewith an overlay superimposed. In this example, after receiving aninvitation to a Thursday lunch meeting, the user invokes an overlay andproceeds to launch his calendar application 800. Upon reviewing thecalendar entry for the relevant date, the user is able to immediatelycompose his reply while his calendar is present in the background, readyfor instant referral by the user. The overlay may also include ashortcut back to the message composition window in the messagingapplication, or allow the user to send the message immediately withoutre-entering the messaging application at all. In yet another example,after reviewing his calendar the user may manually invoke an overlay andcompose a message or a reply while keeping calendar application 800 inthe background, as in FIG. 8C. Those skilled in the art can appreciatethat the use of the calendar application is an example and the methoddescribed herein applies equally well in any other application orwindow.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram view of an exemplary communications deviceas part of a communications network embodying the method describedherein. Communications device 100 is shown as a wireless devicecommunicating with wireless tower 101, which in turn is part of agreater communications network 102. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram view ofexemplary communications device 100, which includes a microprocessor 201interfacing with flash memory 230, RAM 204, display 202, keyboard 203,serial port 221, short-range communication subsystem 220 andcommunication subsystem 210. Communications subsystem 210 in turnincludes digital signal processing unit 211 interfacing with a receiver214 and a transmitter 212, along with their respective antennas 215 and213.

Flash memory 230, which contains operating system 231, messagingapplication 232 and message composition module 233, also includesinstructions to control display 202, accept input from keyboard 203 andserial port 221, and accept input and output from short-rangecommunication subsystem 220 and communication subsystem 210.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that messaging application 232and message composition module 233 may be implemented as a separateapplication running under operating system 231 or may be implemented asan integral part of operating system 231. Messaging application 232 andmessage composition module 233 may also reside on a server outsidedevice 100, with device 100 acting as a dumb terminal.

Referring still to FIG. 2, operating system software and varioussoftware applications such as messaging applications or calendarapplications used by the microprocessor 201 are, in one exampleembodiment, stored in a persistent store such as flash memory 230 or anysimilar non-volatile storage store. Applications may also be stored on aserver in a client-server model with communication device 100 acting asa dumb terminal. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that theoperating system or the various software applications, or parts thereof,may be temporarily loaded into volatile storage such as RAM 204.Received communications signals may also be stored to volatile ornon-volatile storage.

In an example embodiment, microprocessor 201 executes operating systemfunctions and/or software applications. During data communications, areceived signal such as a message will be processed by the short-rangecommunications subsystem 220 or communications subsystem 210 and inputto the microprocessor 201, which further processes the received signalfor output to the display 202. A user of communications device 100 maycompose messages and replies to messages within messaging application232 using keyboard 203 or from any other input device attached to serialport 221 or short-range communication subsystem 220. Such messagesand/or replies may be transmitted and received over a communicationsnetwork through the short-range communications subsystem 220 orcommunications subsystem 210. Messages, variables, and user preferencesmay be stored in any volatile or non-volatile storage store such asflash memory 230 or RAM 204. Those skilled in the art can appreciatethat any data or information stored in volatile storage meant to beretained must be committed to non-volatile storage before any power-downor reset event.

Short-range communications subsystem 220 provides for communicationsbetween device 100 and other similarly equipped devices, which need notnecessarily be similar devices. In an example embodiment, short-rangecommunications subsystem 220 may include an infrared device or aBluetooth communications module. Similarly, serial port 221 provides forcommunications between device 100 and other similarly equipped devicesbut not necessarily similar devices. Example embodiments of serial port221 may include USB ports, parallel ports, or a RS-232 ports.

Communications network 102, in an example embodiment, is connected to awireless network, of which wireless tower 101 is a part. Wireless tower101 provides wireless radio coverage to device 100. Wireless tower 101may be a voice and data network such as GSM, UMTS, HSPDA, CDMA, IEEE802.11, WiMax or any other wireless technology.

While FIGS. 1 and 2 depict an exemplary communications device operatingin a wireless communications network, those skilled in the art canappreciate that the method and device claimed herein applies equally toall communications devices, irrespective of the underlyingcommunications network technology or the size or mobility of the device.Therefore, it is contemplated that device 100 need not be a wirelesscommunications device. Messages and/or replies may be transmitted and/orreceived over a wired communications network connected to device 100 by,for example, serial port 221. Device 100 may also lack communicationsubsystems 210 and 220 entirely and rely on periodic docking orsynchronization with an external communications device or an externalserver to send or receive messages. In such an example embodiment, indocked mode the device 100 will receive messages through its dockingconnection and store these received messages in an “Inbox” innon-volatile memory. In undocked mode the device 100 will store messagesto be sent in an “Outbox” in non-volatile memory, and only when dockedwill the device 100 send the messages in its “Outbox” through itsdocking connection.

It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the method,exemplary device and examples are described herein using top-postingconvention (replies are appended to the message being replied to), themethods and devices described herein may be applied to any postingconvention, whether the convention is top-posting, bottom-posting,inline-posting, or any combination or variant of the above. For example,exemplary message composition window 600 follows top-posting convention,so the primary area is the reply composition area 601 and the secondaryarea is reply message area 602, and reply composition area 601 is placedabove reply message area 602. However, if bottom-posting convention isfollowed, then the primary area is the reply composition area 601 andthe secondary area is reply message area 602, but reply composition area601 is placed below reply message area 602. As a further example, ifin-line posting convention is followed, then the primary area is thereply composition area 601 and the secondary area is reply message area602, but reply composition area 601 is interlaced in reply message area602. Furthermore, it can further be appreciated by those skilled in theart that a user may expressly specify his desired posting conventionthrough user preference settings.

It can also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the textinput area of the overlay is not limited to plain text, but includeselements such as rich text, HTML formatted text, graphics, sounds,movies, slideshows, placeholders, thumbnails, files, attachments, links,and any other textual and non-textual elements as well.

Certain adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments canbe made. Therefore, the above discussed embodiments are considered to beillustrative and not restrictive.

While variants have been described in detail in the foregoingspecification, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvariations may be made without departing from the scope of theapplication, being limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of composing a reply to a message on acommunications device, comprising: displaying a scrollable messagecomposition window showing the reply, wherein the reply includes aprimary area and a secondary area, and wherein the secondary areaincludes a copy of the message; displaying an overlay, the overlayincluding an input area for the input of elements; and inserting theelements entered in the input area of the overlay into the primary areaof the reply.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step ofdetecting an insert event, wherein the step of inserting the elementsinto the primary area is executed in response to the insert event. 3.The method of claim 2 wherein the insert event comprises auser-generated event.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the insert eventcomprises a system event.
 5. The method of claim 2 further comprising,in response to the insert event, a step of displaying a preview ofelements entered into the overlay before they are inserted into theprimary area.
 6. The method of claim 2 further comprising a step ofsending the reply to one or more recipients after the elements areinserted into the primary area.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein thestep of inserting the elements into the primary area further comprisesremoving the overlay.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: after displaying the overlay, detecting a focus change event;in response to the focus change event, replacing the display of thescrollable message composition window with a display of visual contentother than the current message, while continuing to display the overlay.9. The method of claim 8 wherein the visual content comprises contentfrom a second application other than a first application responsible fordisplaying the message.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the focuschange event comprises user input directed to launching the secondapplication.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofautomatically populating the overlay with at least one element from themessage.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step ofdisplaying a directional indicator within the overlay indicating whetherthe at least one automatically populated element is above or below acurrently displayed position.
 13. A device configured for communicationswith a network, the device comprising: a display; a communicationsubsystem for sending and receiving messages over the network; a memory;an user input device; and a processor for controlling the operation ofthe display, wherein the processor is configured to display a scrollablemessage composition window showing a reply to a message, wherein thereply includes a primary area and a secondary area, and wherein thesecondary area includes a copy of the message; display an overlay, theoverlay including an input area for the input of elements; and insertthe elements entered in the input area of the overlay into the primaryarea of the reply.
 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to detect an insert event, and wherein the elementsare inserted into the primary area in response to the insert event. 15.The device of claim 14 wherein the insert event comprises auser-generated event.
 16. The device of claim 14 wherein the insertevent comprises a system event.
 17. The device of claim 14 wherein theprocessor is further configured, in response to the insert event, todisplay a preview of elements entered into the overlay before they areinserted into the primary area.
 18. The device of claim 14 wherein theprocessor is further configured to send the reply to one or morerecipients after the elements are inserted into the primary area. 19.The device of claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured toremove the overlay upon inserting the elements into the primary area.20. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configuredto: after displaying the overlay, detect a focus change event; inresponse to the focus change event, replace the display of thescrollable message composition window with a display of visual contentother than the current message, while continuing to display the overlay.21. The device of claim 20 wherein the visual content comprises contentfrom a second application other than a first application responsible fordisplaying the message.
 22. The device of claim 21 wherein the focuschange event comprises user input directed to launching the secondapplication.
 23. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to automatically populate the overlay with at leastone element from the message.
 24. The device of claim 23, wherein theprocessor is further configured to display a directional indicatorwithin the overlay indicating whether the at least one automaticallypopulated element is above or below a currently displayed position. 25.A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readablemedium having encoded thereon computer executable instructions forcomposing a reply to a message, said computer executable instructionscomprising: instructions to display a scrollable message compositionwindow showing the reply, wherein the reply includes a primary area anda secondary area, and wherein the secondary area includes a copy of themessage; instructions to display an overlay, the overlay including aninput area for the input of elements; and instructions to insert theelements entered in the input area of the overlay into the primary areaof the reply.